The Los Angeles Dodgers seem destined to return to the World Series, even against the best record in MLB that didn’t suffer a single loss in the regular season. Add to that Shohei Ohtani enduring one of his worst batting droughts.
The NLCS shifts to Los Angeles, where Dave Roberts‘ team aims to close it out-not before seeing how, even in a rough patch, the Japanese star continues to make history.
Shohei Ohtani Is Not at His Best
In Game 1, Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-2 with walks in three plate appearances during the 2-1 victory. Then on Tuesday, he went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base.
But he was intentionally walked three times. The previous Thursday in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, the same happened once. According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, Ohtani joined Barry Bonds and Miguel Cabrera as the only hitters with more intentional walks than hits in five postseason games.
In 2002, Bonds had seven intentional walks to six hits. Cabrera had four walks to two hits in 2011. Additionally, Ohtani now stands alongside Pedro Guerrero, who in 1985 received intentional walks four times in October while slumping to 3-for-17.
One hit and one RBI for Shohei Ohtani seems like meager production compared to his regular-season numbers, where he batted .282 with 55 home runs and 12 RBIs-something that must have Dave Roberts very concerned.
The Dodgers need the best version of their star player if they want to repeat as World Series champions. We’ll see if he can shake off this slump that has now extended across four NLDS games and two in this NLCS.
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